Koi fish pond...a couple questions please?

Question

First, it's always appealed to my mom and I to get a koi pond in the backyard, and now that we're getting a sun room there's even more of an incentive. But how do we go about digging the space for one if we have a gas line in the yard?
And secondly, my grandparents have a koi pond and their fish are now huge. Our backyard is fairly good-sized for the suburbs, but still pretty small. Is it OK to make the pond smaller (around 3'x5') or will they get too big?

One more thing...I once went over to my grandparents' house and saw a (pretty!) blue heron eat a fish out of the pond. I know they live by the mountains, but are there any suburb-dwelling birds who snack on critters like fish? And what can I do to repel cats, raccoons, and other lurkers?

Answer 1

call the gas company thy will tell you were the line is.ours is about 4by 5 and it great for Koi watch out for cats racoon so you might need a net over it good luck

Answer 2

depending on where you live, I.E does it freeze for your in florida where it doesnt even get cold etc...

So that plays a part in how deep you have to make it.

Anyway, that is a good point that the first post brought up. Call the company and see if they can send someone over to point out the line.

Then you can dig around it.

3 X 5 isnt alot of room.

Remember koi will get big. 36 inch for fish will need a huge pond. Again i usualy dont recommend koi for anything smaller than 2000 gallons.


Remember as a guidline, koi ponds should have at least 100squared feet of surface area. And must be deep enough that if it freezes in your area, you fish will be protected.

Koi will really get to large, you might consider getting smaller goldfish like comets for your sized pond.

You can put a pond cover on, which is like netting which will keep out cats etc... from getting your fish.

Answer 3

You are smart to do your research up front!

Yes, the gas company will send out a "blue stakes" guy to document where the gas lines run in your yard. Then, you can decide where to put your pond in such a way as to not have to mess with the buried lines at all. Ideally, the spot should be partially in shade and partially in sun. All sun can encourage too much algae growth and make the water too warm, and all shade would make it difficult to grow plants in your pond, which are essential to maintaining good water quality.

Once you've identified the place you want to put the pond, decide on the size and shape. If you want an informal, organic pond, you can use a garden hose to lay out the shape. If you prefer something more formal, stick with a symmetrical shape such as an oval, square, or rectangle. Then dig!

It is a good idea to make at least a portion of the pond at least 24-36" deep so that fish have a place to escape to if they feel threatened or it is too warm - and, something that deep will generally not freeze solid in most parts of the US so you can overwinter your koi in the pond. If you are worried about predation (and herons don't care whether you live in the city or the country, as long as you have fish they can get to!) it is a good idea to make the sides straight up and down. Many pond-building websites recommend making "stepped" sides so that you have places to set plants around the edges, but this also makes shallow "shelves" where predators can stand while they wait to grab your fish, so as a general rule, I recommend against it.

You can still put plants in - I simply place mine on top of black, 3- and 5- gallon plastic planting pots available at nurseries and garden centers. Drill holes in them (about 1" in diameter) first, so that the water can flow through them. Then, tip them upside down and set your plant on top of them. This elevates the plants to the correct height for their type, and the black pots virtually disappear under water. And, the pond can remain too deep for herons or raccoons to wade into. This design has effectively rid our pond of 99% of predators. Lots of plants provide good cover for the fish to hide beneath if they feel threatened, and have the added bonus of absorbing nitrates out of the water, keeping it clean for the fish, and keeping algae down.

I think 3' x 5' is a little on the small side, personally - especially for koi. Remember, no one ever built a pond and wished they would have made it smaller, but people frequently start out small and wish they would've made it bigger! I, too, live in the suburbs and have a decent-sized yard but much of it is on a slope, leaving the only place available for a pond a modest 60' x 40'. We started with our first pond at about 6' x 8' by about 24" deep (approximately 1,000 gallons), and the very next year enlarged it to about 10' x 25' x 36" deep (now closer to 3,000 gallons) - and we've never missed the extra grass to mow.

I have built one for my Grandpa, however, that is only around 4' x 5' x 36" deep. It's only around 750 gallons, but he is able to keep about 5 medium-sized koi in there (i.e., around 10"-18"). When they start to get too big, we take them out and put them in our big pond and he either choses new babies from us or buys new ones to replace the ones that outgrew their space.

Different types of koi seem to grow at different rates, as well. Females, and those that look more like their carp ancestors (such as the copper-colored chagoi and the greyish sarugoi) tend to grow faster and larger than the "fancier" koi like matsuba (pinecone patterned) and utsurimono (one color on a black body). Males do not generally grow as large, either.

If you ultimatley decide against koi, I think shubunkin goldfish are a good second best. They only grow to around 12-14" and you get a lot of good color and movement out of them. And, they still eat mosquito larvae, etc., so make a good pond fish.

Hope this helps - please feel free to e-mail me through my profile if you have any other questions!